Velocitas Sanguine Tintus
by BecauseShewasBORED
Summary: Because of the mistakes they made, the new generation of Guardians will suffer. As darkness decends on Tallulah, Louisiana the creatures of the night decide its time to play... and there will be no survivors. AU, slash/het and VERY rated R.
1. Guardians of a Broken World

A/N: Okay, so this story is... well, freaking weird. Like really, really weird. And I don't know if its good weird or not, I guess you all are the judges of that. Anyway, enjoy.

Warnings: A lot of shit. Graphic sex, graphic violence, gore, profuse swearing, bullying, rape, non-con (how is this different than rape? What, just because you love someone its ok that they force you into sex?) childish temper tantrums, pedophilia (I'm SORRY Phil!) S&M, blood play, kinky shit in general, suggestive situations, lunatic behavior, character deterioration, OOC-ness, bitchy-ness, child abuse, domestic violence, horror, weird supernatural bullshit, SLASH AND FEMSLASH, (did I mention graphic sex scenes?) non-girly non-sweet non-fangirl service Adam (I really don't care who that pisses off. You didn't hear the fit his ass threw when he read some stories where he bottomed to Jay. I don't need him going off like that all the time) and maybe -possibly- some really weird mentally scaring MPREG way later. Oh, and fluffeh cutteh angreh ketteh JoMo.

* * *

><p>"Give me back my panties you cocksucking motherfucker!"<p>

Neither man flinched at the gratuitous shriek, or the loud footsteps pounding accross the old floor boards of the house. Completely egnoring the ruckus with the practice of one used to such daily occurances, they continued reading through the stack of papers on the desk, passing them back and forth every once and a while.

"Ug, you son of a bitch!" a loud crash still didn't catch the pairs attention, though they did look up when the door slammed open and two bodies came barreling in, landing in a heap just inside the door. The red head was up first, straddling the much bigger dark haired man and grbbing fist fulls of his t-shirt.

"Stay the hell out of my room you fucked up PERVERT!" she yelled, pulling her fist back to hit him.

He laughed as her fist connected with his hand. Graspng both her wrists he egnored her thrashing and grinned up at her, "Sorry Patty, I couldn't help myself. Your door was open and that pink thong was irresistible."

She stopped struggling and glared down at him, anger radiating off of her in waves, "This is why I hate comming here. I'm the only girl besides Jo and you BOYS live and act like children," she kicked out at him viciously, "And DON'T call me Patty! Its Trish goddamnit!"

The guy laughed, pushing her off him and standing. Dodging the kick as he brushed his pants off he smiled wickedly, "You kow you love it Trish. At least you're not cooped up with Hiroko and Kenzo at the DoJo."

She slaped his offered hand away and stood up, still glaring, "Stuff it Bobby. I'd rather be back cleaning toilets for Sensei than be stuck in a room with you for a second longer."

As soon as she said it, one of the men at the table spoke, a wry grin on his face as he waved a stack of papers at the two, who seemed supprize to find they had an audience, "Well, thats too bad Patrisha, because since you came crashing into the study, I think its time you do something useful."

Trish's green eyes followed the stack of papers, a look of reluctance crossing her face, "But Rob-"

The other man grunted loudly before Rob could speak, "Suck it up Trish. We all have to pull our weight and the slow days are the time to catch up on paperwork," he gestured to the stacks of folders, notes and files on the desk, "Fuck if there is'nt a shitload of it after three strait weeks of Yeti rutting."

Trish made a disgusted face, "Ug, don't remind me. I still have nightmares about the sounds they make when they fuck." she smirked suddenly, taking the stack from Rob and flipping through it, "Hey, Randal, is the incident report for Bobby getting propositioned by that female Yeti in here?"

It was Bobby's turn to make a disgusted face, "Goddamnit, can we not talk about that please? I'll never look at pussy the same way."

Rob snorted, "Robert Roode, the last time I heard you say 'pussy' you were 10. If I remember correctly, your exact words were 'Rob, pussys nasty'."

Randal's weathered features contorted in thought, "I remember that. We were visiting the orphanage to check on you and James," he grinned, turning to Trish, "You were with us if I recall."

She smirked, "Yup. In fact, if I remeber correctly, the only reason you said that was because I showed you the birth video I stole from the 8th graders."

Bobby made another face, looking slightly ill, "That was so horrible. I am so never getting a chick pregnant."

Trish laughed triumphantly, waving a folder around, "Well, I think 'Mesmernagnia' wil be disapointed to hear that. She seemed really taken with you. I can't wait till Kenzo and Hiroko get to read this. "

Randal smirked, letting out a gruff laugh, "Yeah. Kenzo might actually get a chuckle out of that one."

Rob got up slowly, streching out his legs and poping his back, "If he even remembers how to laugh. How many centuries will he have to knock off before he can convince himself he's young enough to get Tomoko pregnant again?"

Randal rolled his eyes, "You sure as hell shouldn't be commenting on anyone's age you old fucker. You're almost as ancient as he is."

Rob looked afronted, "I am NOT! I'm at _least_ 7 centuries younger than him!"

"Which makes you a millenium older than the rest of the world," came Randal's dry retort as he stood, his bones creaking like the floor boards of the house.

Rob made an outraged noise and hurried after his retreating friend, loudly defending his imagined youthful appearance.

The two continued to bicker as they left, debating who showed ther age more between the senior members of their group. Trish and Bobby watched them go, shaking their heads. Sitting down at the table, they wordlessly started sorting through the seemingly endless stacks of papers, working in perfect harmony despite their earlier fight.

* * *

><p>"Slow down Jo. You're gonna choke."<p>

The brunet's calico ears twitched irritably as he shoved yet another handful of hamburger in his mouth before he'd even finshed swallowing the last. Storm watched this with a slightly impressed look on his face, then returned his attension to the small TV mounted into the wall.

The cordless phone blared the Law and Order theme song from its perch on the counter. Storm grimaced, but the Werekat beside him didn't even blink, choosing to continue his slovenly eating.

Grabbing the phone, Storm spoke in his lazy southern drawl, "Hello-"

"I'll be there in 10 minutes," said a voice he knew well before the line went dead. Blinking at the reciever in confusion, Storm almost missed Rob and Randal passing through the hall.

"Savage, Rob, come here!" he called, waiting until Rob poked his head into the kitchen, noting the older mans affectionate gaze as he took in his adoptive sons gorging. Putting the phone back on the counter, Storm looked at Rob, "Paul just called. All he said was that he would be here in 10 minutes."

Jo raised his head, wiping hamburger blood off his chin, his usual bland, uninterested look in place, though to those who new him, his catlike ears perking up betrayed his curiosity "That makes no sense. He's in that wheelchair and the Portals are all fucked up."

Storm shrugged, watching Rob in interest. He had paled slightly and after slipping into the room, he was now flipping franticly through the wall calender beside the fridge, "Maybe he cleaned them up. Or he's dri-"

Snorting, Jo's elegant, three foot long tail flicked irritably as he spoke, "Don't even try to say he drove. He's paralyzed from the waist down. Besides, even if he could the Tomb is more than 10 minutes from here," he cocked his head to the side as he pushed the plate of raw hamburger away, pulling a book from his back pocket, "Its about 15 minutes, give or take 30 seconds depending upon you mph-"

Storm waved a hand, annoyed by his teamates know-it-all-ness. He returned his attension to Rob who had apparenty reached what he wanted in the calendar, as he was now reading intently. After a minute he looked up, his eyes finding his son and a deep relived sigh escaping his lips. The Werekat seemed to feel his fathers stare, as he looked up from the book, no expression other than mild curiosity on his face. Rob pulled himself together qiuckly, flashing his trademark goofy smile at the two, then turning to the hallway.

"Dude, get in here. Paul E. is on his way to tell us something catastrofic."

To Storm's puzzlement, Randal was at the door in mere seconds, a look of worry on his grizzled features. Sharing a look with Jo, Storm saw his own confusion reflected in the 13 year olds usually emotionless brown eyes. They delt with catastrophy literaly all the time. Rob Van Dam and Randal Savage were vets and had seen things no one should ever have to witness, so if they were this jumpy, whatever was happening had to be REALLY bad. Before he could ask anything, Rob was speaking.

"Relax. I already checked and thats not for another year or so, depending on how long our Straight Edge can hold up." Said Rob with another easy smile that seemed to ease the Team leaders stress.

Again, Storm and Jo shared a look, even more confused now. What calamity were they talking about? And who was this 'Straight Edge'? Seeing that it was a sensitive subject and knowing they would tell him if it was imediate, Storm couldn't help but ask the first qusetion that seemed safe, "Are we in danger?"

Randal scoffed, "Dumbass, of course we are. We keep Otherworlders and Humans from going to war and wiping each other out everyday. We're ALWAYS in danger."

Storm shook his head, not being in on the secret making him uneasy, "Not what I meant. Are we in more danger than usual? Is Sabu ging to come creeping out of the shadows before morning?"

Rob laughed at the look of distaste on Randal's face at the mention of his lover, "No, Sabu is'nt comming," he paused, "Well, not yet. If this goes where I think its going, then he will show up later. But for now, I'm not in enough danger to warrant a visit just yet."

Storm allowed a smile at the run on joke. Rob was the highest class of Wizard and the former head of the prestigious and secretive Order. He was also very, very old, centuries older than pretty much everyone they knew, even the non-humans. Needless to say, he did not need protection. None the less, Randal liked to tease Rob about a time long ago, before Storm, Bobby, Trish and Jo had even been with them, that Sabu had come sweeping in to save Rob from a rouge Otherworlder. Add to that the fact that Sabu visited very sporadicly, it had become somewhat of a joke that Sabu only showed up when Rob was in trouble, which despite their occupation, did not happen much.

Jo spoke up for the first time in several minutes, "So its not so dangerouse now, but the peril will increas before this is all over."

The door slammed open, Storm smiling when he caught sight of his best friends, who seemed to be having the time of their lives trading verbal barbs, which they switched to picking on the young Werekat as they walked into the room.

"'Peril'," said Bobby mockingly, grinning big at Jo to show him he was only teasing the kid, "Who the fuck talks like that anyway?"

Trish plopped down on the barstool on Jo's other side, "Our pretty little-bitty kitty does. Him and his big words make him sound smarter then he really is."

"I think older is what hes going for. All those 'hey look, Kenzo's recruiting little kids now' must get annoying after a while." commented Randal, pulling a can of pop from the fridge.

As usual, the Werekat merely rolled his eyes and went back to his book, fading off into his own little world again. Storm again caught the strange, worried look in Rob's eyes as he studied his adopted son, but before Storm could puzzle it out, the door burst open, revealing a thickset man in a wheelchair who had a decidedly unhappy look on his pudgy face. He said nothing, wheeling expertly into the room, which had gone silent upon his arrival. Storm noted that even Trish and Bobby, usually the loud ones, had ceased their bickering, not supprizing since Paul's silence and severe look probly had them on edge, since he was rarely ever not grinning like an idiot or bitching about the expenses they racked up.

After possitioning his chair to face them, Paul rubbed his hand over his face, looking even more tired than usual. His lower lip stuck out as if in consentration as his eyes squinted at nothing, nervous gestures that Storm recognized as signs of nothing good. Everyone else seemed to be thinking the same thing, Storm noticed as he caught sight of them shifting anxiously.

Finally, Paul spoke, his usually loud, screeching voice quiet and subdued, "Elizabeths's tomb was... desecrated."

A silence that was deathly still followed his words, but was soon filled with an angry buzzing, like a massive swarm of bees about to attack. Storm shivered, sharing a look with Bobby and Trish, who looked concerned. Bobby vaguely remembered hearing the name before, but he couldn't recall the details other than she was a woman Rob, Paul, and Randal had known a long tme ago.

The silence was broken by Randal, who's tone had the careful control of one too angry to shout, "Who?"

"I don't know!" Paul snapped, then rubbed at his face again, continueing in a more controlled tone, "If I did, I'd have burst in here, given you a name and sent you off."

Rob spoke up, his voice calm, "What do we have to go on?"

Paul pulled a small laptop from the side compartment on his wheelchair. Opening it, he began typing rapidly, his voice rising higher, "It happened sometime this morning. Around two or three hours ago by the tracks. Whoever it was was in a hurry, they obviously didn't finish doing what they wanted to do."

Randal raised an eyebrow, his tone still controlled, "And do we know what they were trying to do?"

"Looking for Evan I assume," said Paul, and this time it was Trish's turn to raise an eyebrow. What did Paul's son have to do with this?

"They didn't take anything, not even stuff for black magic. They did mess the place up pretty bad," Paul continued, making a face, "They even threw grafiti up on the walls."

Rob looked thoughtful, "So they didn't come for her remains. If they had, taking them would have been easy if they made it all the way into the tomb."

Trish spoke up, curiosity getting the better of her, "But are'nt all Guardian remains burned and put in unbreakable tombs?"

Paul snorted, "Well, Elizabeth wasn't a Guardian, but she was put in a tomb like us anyway. Part of the problem is the fact that no one should be able to get in after the tomb is sealed."

Jo looked bored and thoughly unimpressed with the conversation, "Well, that just means that whoever broke in was either an Enforcer or one of the people who sealed her up."

For a moment the room froze, the Werekat's words seemingly making time stand still. Then Rob sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he muttered under his breath. Paul shook his head then went back to typing as Storm and Trish looked warily at Randal, who had a dangerous look on his face. Even Bobby (known for speaking out of turn) winced at Jo's bitter words.

For some reason, those words seemed to grate on Randal's last nerve. He stalked over to the Jo and slammed his hands down on the counter on either side of the Werekat, traping him between his strong, scared arms. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous, reminding Storm of a snarling animal about to strike, "Enforcers have a job no one envies. They keep two realms from colliding, and keep peace in the places where they do. Just because there was a few bad seeds who fucked you doesn't mean they're all bad."

Again, a deadly silence fell over the room, exept this time there was a thick under current of pain, almost palpable in its intensity as it flooded the room, long and low almost like a sob. Trish, Bobby and Storm looked on with wide eyes. No one talked about the young Werekat's past, ever. Whenever his childhood was brought up, he would imediatly become silent and jumpy, refusing to speak about the subject. Trish had asked Rob about it once and the story they had gotten had made her curse her own curiosity.

Paul closed his laptop with a snap, sighing deeply and runing a hand through his thinning hair before shooting a paticularly venimous look at Randal, "You're a goddamn asshole. He doesn't deserve that and you know he doesn't like it being brought up."

Which made Storm wonder why on earth Randal was bringing it up now. It was obviously still a very sore subject, given the sudden mood of the room. Jo, as stoic as he was, couldn't hide all the pain from his gaze, though James noted it was less pain, more absolute horrified panic. His voice was steady when he spoke though, if a little monotone, "They killed my sister and left me for dead Savage, excuse me for not trusting them. And if they had actually done their jobs, Weres wouldn't even exist, so thats even more reason not to have faith in them."

Randal opened his mouth, but before he could speak Rob was there, his arms between his friend and his adoptive son, pushing Randal back. Storm shuddered at the barely contained fury on Rob's face as he shoved Randal toward the door. The other man turned on him, glaring but was met with the furious gaze of his usually goofy friend. They stared each other down for a minute, red hot anger and words unspoken passing between them.

Finally, Randal snorted and turned away, brushing by Paul on the way out. Rob watched him go, eyes still roiling with anger. Turning back to his son, he saw the storm of emotions crossing the boys features, wild and confused as the Kat struggled to contain those memories he desperately wanted to forget. Rob looked at him long and hard before turning to the others, who where trying to appear uninterested in the drama and unaware of the emotions spilling out of their youngest team member.

Rob drew a breath, a hard glint in his eye that his teamates had only seen a few times and it never bode well for whoever had pissed him off. Pulling a set of keys from his pocket, he threw them to Storm as he spoke, "Go with Paul to Holloway. Evan is officially on lockdown. You keep him safe at any cost."

Catching the keys and heading for the door with Trish and Bobby close behind, Storm looked back at his teacher, "Whats the danger leval?"

Rob looked startled for a minute, then grinned. It wasn't his usual goofy, carefree smile, but a dark, humorless, rather alarming smile that spoke volumes for their furture, "Worse than anything you've ever seen kids. If you let your guard down you'll die."

* * *

><p>"So, yeah, anyone understand as little of that as I did?" asked Trish as they headed to the garage, Paul in the lead.<p>

Storm and Bobby shared a look, but it was Paul who answered her, "The bit about Lizzy's tomb being desecrated putting Evan in danger, or the bit about Kit Kat being raped by Enforcers?"

Trish visibly winced at his blunt words, "No, I understand the thing about Elizbeth. I heard Sensei and Kenzo talking about her."

Paul raised an eyebrow as they reached the garage, which was suspiciously vacant of another vehicle that Paul could have used to get there. This really did'nt supprize Bobby though, as Paul, Rob and Randal all had the habit of getting form one place to another by mysterious means. Paul opened the passenger door and expertly lifted himself into the seat, turning to Trish as she climbed in, "You 'heard' them, huh?"

Trish flushed slightly, "Well I may have been eves droping, but both Hiroko and Kenzo are way too smart to fall for that, so they must have wanted me to hear it."

Paul nodded as Bobby loaded his chair in the vans backseat, "I told them to tell you all a long time ago. I know you're all young, but if you can protect entire races, then you can handle a few horror stories."

As Storm started the car, he glanced over at Paul, "So, tell us."

Paul did'nt answer for a minute, then he turned to Trish, "How much did you hear?"

She looked thoughtlful, "Not that much. I was afraid that I would be pushing my luck if I stuck around too long and didn't want to be on the reciving end of Sensei's temper."

Paul smiled fondly, "Smart girl. Hiroko can be a terror when she wants to be."

Trish nodded, "Right, but I did hear them talk a bit about Elizabeth. They said she was married to some guy named William Moody. I didn't get what they were talking about, but I gather something happened and she had to leave him. I guess Kenzo was really worried about her, so he put her under the protection of his then strongest team-"

Bobby spoke up then, looking intrigued, "Which I'm guessing was you, Randal, Rob, and Sabu."

Paul noded, "Gangrel and Eddie were with us, but you guys don't know who they are, so thats another story for another day."

Trish looked irritated at having been interupted, but she went on anyway, "And I don't really know what happened after that, but from the way they were talking, it sounded like she got killed anyway."

Anger simmered in Paul's voice, and he clenched his fists, "She wasn't even a Hunter. She couldn't fight or protect herself. Moody brought her into this world unprepared, and she paid the price," He took and fortifying breath, as if preparing to go to battle, "Elizabeth was... Rob'll explain that later, but leave it to say that she was very, very inticing for creatures of the evil persuasion. And not just because she was beautiful. She got..." he took another breath, but they could see the pain in his eyes, "Raped by an Otherworlder named Nero, and by the time she got to Kenzo, she was pregnant with Evan."

"Kenzo sent her to us, and her and Randal really hit it off, a fact that had me, Eddie and Gangrel non to happy, as we all kinda had a little soft spot for her. But they got married a month before Evan was born, and all was well until two weeks before she was due. Nero showed up on a bad night and we could't protect her. We all paid the price," he gestured bitterly to his useless legs, "She died that night and with her went our teams unity. Eddie could'nt handle the saddness of this place without her, so he went to mexico to train his own group. Gangrel went crazy, obsessed with necromancy and the thought of bringing her back, until him and Rob got into it one night, Rob saying he was shaming the memory of a beautiful woman. Rob broke his neck, but Gangrel was a Fang, so he healed up and left."

Paul sighed, "I was in recoup for my legs while all of this was happening. Of all of us, I think Rob took it the best, 'cause he had Sabu to lean on," he smiled wryly, "The only time in my life I'd seen Sabu attached to Rob at the hip. Randal of course, went nuts. I think he loved her more than any of us, and I really think he wanted to die. But there was Evan to look after. I agreed to take him when I retired, since I knew neither Rob nor Randal could handle something that reminded them of her."

Paul shook his head, as if clearing the memories, "And the rest you know of course."

There was along silence, then Trish spoke, "So then you think Nero has come back for Evan?"

Paul shrugged, "Its the most likely senerio. Nero is a Phoenix, like you Trish. Exept he's full grown, and ridiculously powerful. He is the only one strong enough to bust through a tomb with as many enchantments on it as Lizzy's had. I think he probly did it just to announce himself, toying with us and reminding us how badass he is."

Bobby frowned, "Well, its certainly shaking things up. We're already crumbling from within."

Storm snorted, "Thats for sure. For the life of me, I don't get what Savage's damn problem is."

Paul got a dark look in his eyes, remembering the earlier confrontation, "He's upset about Lizzy. Like I said, he took her death really hard. This is bringing it all back."

"That doesn't make what he said to Jo okay!" exclaimed Trish, her green eyes flashing anger, "Just because he was hurting doesn't mean he had to drag Jo down with him."

Paul made a sound of agreement, "Savage can be a real fucktard when he wants. Its his job to know peoples weaknesses and use them to the teams advantage. Morrison is an easy target to take his frustrations out on because unlike the rest of us, Kitty Kat is nowhere near being at peace with his past."

Storm glanced over at the older man, "You know about Jo's past?"

Paul nodded, a look of disgust creeping onto his face, "Oh yeah. I was there the night it happened."

Bobby cocked his head, looking thoughtful, "Oh yeah, you left us with Evan. I remember Nattie being really angry for no reason that night."

Paul's shoulders fell and he scrubbed at his face with one hand, "Yeah, she hates it when kids get hurt. What those Enforcers did to Jo really pissed her off. Plus, she knew Phil was gonna go to jail."

Trish snorted, thinking of the greasy haired, tattoo obsessed hothead, "Phil's damn lucky he didn't get put to death. Thats the normal punishment for killing an Enforcer and he killed ten."

Paul gave a humorless smile, "Phil had more reasons than you think to kill those bastards for touching Morrison," he looked out the window, memories clouding his blue eyes, "He gets out in 2 months. 9 years in Asylum... and he's coming home," he paused and they thought he was done talking before he spoke again, so quietly they almost missed it, "If he's strong enough."

* * *

><p>"EVAN!"<p>

"What?" asked the young man in question, slightly irritated.

"I NEED ANOTHER BEER!" sceeched the blond, waving her ass around to the beat of the radio on the bar infront of her. Which was interesting, as the radio was playing a comercial for laxatives.

Evan rolled his eyes, but before he could reply, another shout interupted him. Looking to his left, he groaned at the sight of Chris, Adam and Shawn argung heatedly with each other. Feeling his blood pressure rise, he cursed his day off for being tomorrow. Shawn, Chris and Adam were living proof of the steriotypes of their hair color. They were without a doubt the most idiotic people Evan knew and he hated it when they came around every few weeks.

Still, this was the only place Otherworlders could mingle openly with each other and not have to worry about scaring the humans, so Evan tolerated it. He did not tolerate them breaking things, which Shawn -the most ridiculous one- looked close to doing. Evan moved around the bar, heading for his unruly patrons with an intent to tell them to cool it or leave, but before he'd even made it halfway accross the bar room, the sallon like doors blew open, hinges twisting as the wooden planks fell to the floor.

Stoping where he was, Evan cursed his bad luck. There in the doorway stood Mark Henry, all 6 ft 300 lbs of him. He was ragged and bleeding, back from some Enforcer job or another that looked to have gone wrong. As he began stomping accroos the room, Evan swore outloud.

"Mark, if you get blood on the floor mom's gonna-"

"I'm going to what?"

The wods, spoken softly, were harmless enough, but they had the whole bar freezing in place. Kelly stopped her dancing and got down, sitting on her barstool sheepishly. Shawn sat down imediatly, taking a drink of his beer, Adam and Chris quickly following suit. Mark turned around, picked up the fallen door, and fixed it back into place, bending the hinges and using his ridiculous stength to push the nails back into the wall. Evan handed him the rag he'd been using to wipe the bar, and Mark tied it around the wound on is leg, slowing the blood flow.

They all turned as one to the doorway from which that dreaded voice had come and awaited inspection. After letting them squirm for a good 10 minutes, Natalia nodded, her sharp eyes amused at her complet control, "Good enough. Carry on, but be good to Cena," she jestured to the man at the bar, "He's in charge until I get back."

She turned, beconning to Evan as she went. Wordlessly, he followed, throwing his apron behind the bar as he went and wondering what she had in store fo him.


	2. As the Stars start to Fall

_Punk (glaring)_

_Me: *winces*_

_Punk: Take it back. Now bitch._

_Me: Fuck you asshole, you're a damn creep and you know it._

_Punk: Goddamnit I know that! I've done some shitty things in this made up life you imagined, but I will not be called a pedophile! Its not right! After all the shit I went through at Asylum-_

_Me: Alright alright, quit your bitching. People, what I said in the warnings was inaccurate. There IS pedophilia, but PHIL has nothing to do with it. _

_Punk: Better._

_Me (thinking): But there is sex with a minor. Probably going to be a lot of it, so brace yourself._

_Punk: *nosebleeds*_

_Me: Told you you were a pervert, you lying fuck._

* * *

><p>"..."<p>

Trish rolled her eyes and shared a look with Bobby. Evan had taken the news of his lockdown with the expected level of enthusiasm. The small man sat in one of the metal folding chairs that furnished the office, looking too petulant for his 23 years.

He said nothing in complaint though and his companions new why -and would undoubtably tease him later for it later. His mother or not, Evan was deathly afraid of Natalia Hart (like the rest of the people who knew her). She loved him, that much was obvious, just as she loved Paul, but the small blond had a tendacy to be a fire breathing dragon hag when she got angry.

So Evan sat, listening to Paul explain about his predicament, though Bobby found it interesting that Paul said nothing of Evan being Eliabeth's son or Nero. He simply said that they had reason to believe someone wanted Evan dead, so he was under protection for a while.

Not that a person like Evan -one who lived in both the Human world and the Otherworld- being a target was anything new. Technically, he was a Guardian, and as the watchers of the protals they tended to piss Otherworlders off. Hunters, Keepers, Guardians and the like were targetted all the time. But something told Storm, Bobby and Trish that there was a lot more to this story than they had been told. Which was both alarming and unusual. It was dangerous for them not to have all the information, which was why Randal, Kenzo, Hiroko, Rob, Paul and Natalia usually told them everything up front.

"So, where am I staying?" Evan asked quietly after Paul had finished omitting huge parts of his life story.

Natalia looked at the door and as if summoned, Randal came in still looking moody from earlier. The member of the infamous Hart clan completely egnored his grouchy demeanor and beamed at her son, "To the safe house for you!"

Evan groaned internally. 'Safe house' was just another way of saying roach motel, as they had learned long ago that there was nothing actuallly safe about a safe house. Motels were safer and better, mostly because Otherworlders looked down upon them and refused to set foot in them. Ergo, if an otherworlder was chasing you, go to the one place he doesn't want to go.

"I've got your shit in the car. Move it," Randal growled, his temper flaring at his teams reluctance to leave the office.

His tone got them moving, though Evan caught Natalia glaring at Randal as they scampered for the door.

"Rob told me what you said to Jonathan. You say shit like that again and I'll murder you motherfucker," she hissed to his retreating back.

Randal bravely flipped her off, then yanked the door shut so he didn't have to dodge flaying objects. He took off for the back exit, his rapid pace making the other scramble to catch up, keeping Evan bettween them to shield him form any threats, should one arise.

It was Bobby's turn to groan internally as they approached the parking lot. As a group, they owned three cars; Rob's station wagon, Storm's truck and Randal's van. Trish also had a mustang, but it was parked in a garage somewhere in Rhode Island because even Rob agreed she was too tempermental to drive.

But this clown car was none of their cars, and while Bobby understood the need to rent a car, it didn't mean he had to like it. All piling in the battered cadilac (that smelled suspiocously like cigarets and dead things) Trish and Bobby sat on either side of Evan in the back as Storm settled in the passenger seat.

Bobby shared a look with James and Trish. Besides the weeks of Yeti rutting -which required monitoring so that they didn't alert the Human authorities- they hadn't had anything too dangerous go down. Sure, a few dead Otherworders and Humans, a mass Vampire attack and witches thinking they could make it rain frogs for their own amusment among other things, but nothing that required this much caution or manpower. Hell, Storm had taken care of the Vampires single handedly.

But looking at his companions, he could see that they were asking the same question he was;

What on earth _really _had there teamates on edge this much?

* * *

><p>"Oh <em>please <em>tell me you're joking," hissed Trish, staring at the building infront of them.

Storm understood her disgust, but he had another consern, "This is a really bad idea. Even disregarding the fact that Adam owns this place, there are too many people. If Evan's stalker shows up a lot of people could die-"

"Don't question me. Get the fuck out of the car and into the lobby." snarled Randal, opening the door and storming out into the drizzling rain that had started.

Startled by the outburst, the others wasted no time vacating the rust bucket car and hurrying after the unreasonably angry man. They followed him through the faded blue doors up to the information desk.

"We're here to see Alec Patterson," said Randal, not bothering to sound friendly. The woman nodded warily, tapping at her keyboard.

"Ah, thats room 301 sir. Can I-?" But Randal was already headed for the evevator, his deamenor making people stop and stare.

Getting a bad feeling about the attension they were reiciving, Storm pressed the close button on the number pad and shot Randal a warning look. Not suprizingly, the older man egnored him, hitting the third floor button and stepping off the elavator before the doors had even finished opening when they got there.

The others quickly followed him through the 'Employees Only' door, wisely falling silent. They walked along an eerily hospital like corridor, then down a long twisting flight of stairs to a stone walled hallway that looked suspicously like it lead to the basement. Turning a corner and through another door, they arrived at what was apparently their destination, which was less than stellar, but definatly better than a roach motel bed.

Before them were large laundry carts full of sheets and towles, at least two dozen of them spread throughout the spacious room. Evan and the others could guess what price Adam had extracted for them putting his hotel in danger and they were proved right when they caught sight of a furiously twitching white tipped tail.

Bobby closed the door behind them and they moved into the room, Trish and Storm watching their irritated young friend with mild amusement. Morrison was loading black sheets into an industrial sized washer, open disgust pinching his usually stoic face. He paused, looking down at the sheet in his arms with shock, his nose scruching up adorably and a look of indignat horror overcomming his features. Hissing in a way true to his hybrid genes, he shoved the sheets in the washer and slammed the door shut with a low growl. Jabbing his thumb against the start button, he stood there, staring at the machine with his ears layed back, glaring like the appliance owed him money.

Trish let out a giggle, earning a snarl from the moody teen before she slapped him on the back and grabbed an armload of towels, "Aw, did the Kitty Kat find bodily fuids on the roach montel sheets?"

She dodged the towel he threw at her and walked up to the nearest available washer as another head poped up in the sea of dirty linen. Storm felt his worry ease slightly, seeing the big, goofy grin back on Rob's face. Jo's mood was considerably lighter as well, despite what had happened earlier.

"Hey guys and gals!" Rob chirped, smiling like an idiot as he worked his way toward them, "The gal being Evan of course," he assured Trish, who had stopped her towel war with Morrison to give him a warning look.

Storm galnced down at Evan who had been quiet since they'd left the bar. It worried him as well, but he knew Evan well enough to see how upset he was. It was a confusing situation and to make it worse, given the look on Evan face, the raven haired man knew he was being lied to. He could tell that the bullshit story Paul told him was only the half truth and though he trusted his adopted father enough to go along anyway, that didn't top it from bothering him.

There was nothing to be done though. The calmest of the younger members of the group, James Storm was something like Randal's protoge, meaning he was being groomed to take over Randal's duties when he died. But be that as it may, Storm had no say in some decisions, despite how much it annoyed him to be shut out. Their group worked because they were all honest with each other and all took part in deciding what they needed to do. All these secrets their leaders were keeping from them could lead nowhere good.

But Rob was tight lipped and Randal had started shutting them out and if they weren't careful it would lead to Trish, Bobby and Evan not trusting them, which would make protecting the hard headed Evan impossible.

Rob walked over and threw an arm around Evan, chattering away about miscellaneous things, Storm watching them fondly until a flying object had him ducking. Eyeing the black sheet now lying on the floor, he raised an eyebrow at Bobby, who was standing between the washers Tish and Jo were loading. The big man had a devilish look on his face as he twirled a towel in his powerful hands, an unmistakable challenge in his eyes.

"Don't just stand there asshole, come help us play house keeper like a good little maid."

He may be the calmest of the bunch, but Storm had never claimed to act his 26 years. Egnoring the suspicious white stains standing out against the black fabric, he grabed the sheet off the floor and headed toward his friends, contentment spreading through him. Maybe this crisis wasn't as dramatic as he had first assumed. The incident between Jo and Randal seemed to be behind them, despite Randal's lingering dark mood.

"You okay?" Bobby asked, swatting at Storm with the towel, a knowing look in his eyes as they squared off, circling each other.

Storm easily sidestepped the testing shot, twisting one end of the sheet and winding it around his wrist, "Yeah, I am now. I think we're good as long as-"

Randal cut him off, heading toward the door as he pulled out his cell, "Rob I'm gonna go take care of some shit while you all do the bitch work. I'm taking the credit card, but I heard there was a group of Enforcers staked out at the dock. If you need money you can send prissy kitty down there to make some quick cash sucking-"

This time, there was no time for a stunned silence. Storm practically _heard_ the Werekat's last nerve break, sending the 13 year old over the edge. Before anyone could say anything, Jo had dropped the sheets he was folding and launched himself across the room, his ears layed back and hands already morphing into paws, claws fully extended, tail lashing furiously as he crashed onto the older man.

Rob let go of Evan, a thunderous expression on his face as he stalked accross the room to calm down his son, who had his sharp teeth and claws sunk into a furiously cursing Randal.

Storm sighed in defeat, looking at Evan, who had a stunned expression on his face. Bobby reached out, restraining Trish who had started for the fight with her eyes set on Randal. Shaking his head, Storm dropped the sheet, all desire for play gone now, the contentment he'd felt earlier slipping into dread for the future.

"- as long as that doesn't happen," he finshed, watching Rob pull a livid Morrison off Randal, tears of fury streaming down the Werekat's cheeks as he hissed loudly.

This was not going well at all.


	3. Changes of the Destroyer

_"...others... sil... ight..."_

_Hands shaking atop the cool soil, a single bead of sweat rolled its way down a throbing forehead._

_"Crim -ood... stai... the moonl..."_

_Whispered words only heard by the sparse grass beneath his fingers. Drawing in a gasping breath, palms sinking into the dirt, more sweat made its way down his back as it arched under the assault of the words._

_"-eed... set... me free..."_

_Now covered in a heavy sheen of sweat, the small man gave an almost imperceptible moan. As the tingling began to build in his stomach, he gasped, this time the sound was aloud, but he didn't care. The words washed over him, capturing him like a kiss from a deliciously agressive lover._

_"My.. swe... -amb..."_

_Back arching up into the words, desperate to be touched by the one speaking them, aching for release... a helpless whimper escaped his lips as the voice laughed soflty, amused by his distress._

_"Come play with me..."_

* * *

><p>Evan shot up from his cot, panting heavily and covered in sweat. He'd woken up in strange places enough to be used to the initial disorentaion, so he settled for glacing at James instead. Storm was at his post, up and alert, perched on the dryer closest to the door.<p>

Sighing in relief, Evan sat up, trying to catch the remains of his confusing dream. Unable to remember much but the helpless desperation, he shook his head, opting to push it away until he could speak with Rob about it.

_Not that Rob's sharing anything with me, _he though with irritation. He was not the most expirenced of the group -having spent much of his life in The Tomb helping his mom run Holloway- but he derserved to know who or what was trying to kill im.

Sighing as he finger combed his hair, determindly shoving such thoughts away. Bitching about not being let in on the big secret would get him nowhere. Besides, it made him feel and sound like a petulant child. He didn't need to give Shelley and Sabin another reason to tease him for being as much of a toddler as Jo.

Wincing, he glanced over at the Werekat. Tail twitching irritably, calico ears laid back on his head the 13 year old stil seemed riled up. His shoulder length dark hair hung in his face, so Evan couldn't tell if he had one of his two expressions on his face -angry and disinterested- but the tension radiating off the cat/human hybrid spoke volumes of his mood.

_Oh boy. Whatever's going on, I hope its over soon. If Randal doesn't calm down, Jo's gonna murder him._

The door banged open, reveling Trish and Rob, who were both beaming -and carrying something that smelled suspiciously like McDonalds.

Rob scanned the room, pausing to frown slightly at his son, who was still propped up against the wall, saring at nothing. Rob sighed, then caught sight of Evan and smiled weakly at the undoubtably pathetic look on the young mans face.

"Evan, hun, wipe your mouth," said Trish as she bounced accross the rom to stand infront of Jo.

Blushing slightly, Evan reached up his hand, grimacing at the string of drool he found at the corner of his mouth. Wiping it away impatiently, he stood, heading towad Rob.

Setting the paper bags down on a washer, Rob opened one and laid out several tightly wrapped breakfast sandwiches, grinning as Evan snatched up the nearest one hungrily.

"Wheres Bobby?" Evan asked, the urge to know rising so suddenly he choked on his egg and cheese burrito before he'd finished speaking.

Rob said nothing, didn't even look worried or suprized as he patted Evan on the back. Coughing more from supprize at the feeling of desperation flooding him, Evan leaned on the washer, blinking back tears.

_What the HELL was that?_

Looking questioningly at Rob, he found that gentle, understanding look he'd been seeing since he was a child. Breathing in slowly through his sore windpipe, he felt the natural calmness that alway sourounded Rob take effect, using it as an anchor of sorts.

Rob gave him a reasuring smile, patting him more gently on the back as he took up a sausage and cheese croissant, "He's out with Randal. They went to walmart for suplies."

"WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY WORLD!"

Raising an eyebrow at Rob, Evan turned to see Trish standing infront on Jo, shaking her ass obscenely in the air as she sang loudly and off key.

"WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY WORLD! WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY- "

"Ug! Shut up already jesus!" snarled Jo, flicking his hair back and glaring heatedly at Trish, who paused, her fingers wrapped around her ankles and her ass right in front of the Werekat's face. She looked around her backside at the Kat, grinning wickedly.

"If you get up and eat I will," she said, still poised to start shaking her ass again.

The teen narrowed his eyes at her, his long thin whiskers twitching as is ears lay back again. Glancing at the doorway, he licked his lips, a nervous habit he had when he was irritated.

"I'm not hungry," he tried, shooting Evan a look that clearly said 'help'.

"Too bad then! WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY WALLY WORL-"

"Nnn! Okay okay just stop!" hissed Jo, standing up and trying to dodge around the small red head.

Trish was upright in a flash, one arm wrapped around Jo's shoulders as she guilded him along, grinning in triumph.

"Ha! I win! Now, what kind of McHeartattack do you want?"

* * *

><p>"Okay, this shit is just ridiculous."<p>

Evan rolled his eyes good naturedly, grinning at the disgusted look on the Werekat's face as he slammed the washer door shut.

"What do you expect Jo? Its a seedy motel," the older man said, glad he could stand beside someone only an inch or two taller than him for once.

Jo sighed, shutting another washer, hitting start, then turning his back to it. Running a hand through his unruly hair, he leaned against the machine, one foot on the floor, the other pressed to the washer door.

Sensing his mood shift, Evan dropped his armload of towels into a dryer along with a dryer sheet. Sutting the lid, he hopped up on the machine as it began to hum. Looking over at his young friend, he waited.

"Something... somethings happening," the Kat said, his voice comming out strangled like he didn't want to say anything at all.

Evan cocked his head and Jo seemed to take that as a sign of disbelief, "I know that someone's after you or whatever... but this seems even bigger than just another pissed off witch clan targetting a Guardian," his soft features scrunched up in an effort to explain his thoughts, "Its like... the air is wrong."

Evan thought for a minute, "You mean like when the portals blew up last month?" he remembered waking up a month ago covered in sweat and head pounding as an ear splitting shriek tore through Monroe at 3 in the morning.

Jo nodded, frowning in thought, "Yeah, like that. Actually, everything has seemed off for a while now. I first noticed it around august of last year..."

Evan nodded, "Yeah, your birthday to be exact," he continued to nod for a split secod until he realised what he had said. Eyes widening, he turned his head to Jo, who's usually impassive gaze mirrored his anxiety.

"Its a coincidence..." Evan said, the words shaky and desperate to his own ears.

The Kat looked down, biting his lip in thought as the thick coat of fur around his neck bristled in agitation, "There are no coincidences," Cocking his head, he contemplated the floor as if seeing something Evan couldn't, "If the tension started building on my birthday, then did it come to a head when the portals exploded or was that just a taste of whats to come?"

Evan closed his eyes, his worry divided between the threat before them and the fact that this 13 year old knew entirely too much about the darker side of life. Before he could head down emo road, bitching about the cruelty of his and Jo's stolen childhoods, he picked up the Werekat's train of thought.

"I very much doubt that blowing up the portals was the eye of the storm. Operating on the idea that the calm before the storm started on your birthday..."

Jo nodded, pushing a strand of dark hair back from his face, "You're right. I don't see 9 months of buildup ending in just the portals blowing up. I mean, its not like thats the only way to travel, its just the fastest. Whoever did it disturbed the leylines and shut the portals in Louisianna down, which is annoying but not really detrimental unless you're a visiting Otherworlder on a weekend pass with urgent bussinss back in your home dimension."

Evan frowned, "Yeah, but what if that the point?"

Mor cocked his head, "Meaning?"

Evan waved his hand impatiently, "What if thats what it was meant to do? Blow the portals up to annoy the Guardians and Otherworlders. Not like a prank but as a determent. Keep them here and out of the way."

The Werekat nodded thoughtfully, catching on, "I see," he clicked his small fingers, the snap louder than one would expect, "A distraction! Not only do the broken portals keep Otherworlders and Hunters here, it keeps everyone busy. Otherworlders who need to get back home but are restricted within state lines can't leave the state in search of another portal, so they're stuck here until leylines return to stability, the Order fixes the portals, or the Guardians sort out their paperwork and let them jump state lines. Which means the Guardians are swamped with work, meaning they can't watch their territories as effectively and the Hunters that haven't left to find working potals are overworked keeping impatient Otherworlders from crossing state lines without permisson."

Evan's eyes widened as the implications sunk in, "Oh my god. With the Guardians busy with Otherworlder work, The Order trying to fix the Leylines, Enforcers looking for the one screwing with them in the first place and the Hunters off to other states or chasing down Otherworlders, we're..."

The teen nodded, "We're on our own. Since the Portals are fucked, there's no way to transport a group of Enforcers or Hunters here quickly."

"_Goddamnit!_" swore Evan, anger in his words, "Savage told Kenzo you guys needed more people in this area. You guys aren't Order, Hunters _or _Enforcers, yet you're the only freaking fighting force in the north half of Louisiana!"

"Actually, we only cover 10 parishes in the north east corner of the state-" said the Werekat absently, his ruff standing up as if electrified. He was staring at the door, delicate features pinched in something like worry.

Evan cocked his head, then frowned as the sound hit his ears, taking longer to reach his human ears.

It was long and low, but not soft. It was a high pitched whine, but more mechanical... no. The only, unsatisfactory word Evan could come up with was _otherworldly,_ which seemed redundant given his occupation. But that was the only ajective his mind would spit out, however inadequit.

The sound deepend, making the Werekat beside him cringe, his ears flatening to his head, though Evan knew that wouldn't help much. As suddenly as it had deepend, the sound hit an odd note, a sound both screeching and low, loud and soft, like nails on a chalk bord and the muted cries of a drowning creature.

It sounded like a scream.

Evan shivered, wishing he had a really big weapon and cursing the others for leaving them alone. He glanced over at Jo and cursed again. The werekat was leaning heavily on the washer behind him, ears flat to his head and one hand over his left ear. The teens chest was heaving laborously and beads of sweat rolled down his face, soaking the fur around his throat.

Evan knew he should be reaching for the dagger in his hip holster, or the gun on the oposit leg, but the sound had him paralyzed, waiting for the next note.

It came all too soon for his companion. Like a creature in the throes of death, the scream rose several octaves, becomming alost imperceptible to Evan's human ears. That was not the case for a certain Werekat though. The lincreasingly lucid wail had the sensitive Kat sliding to the floor, arms over his ears.

As the sound hit its peak, there was an accompanying supersonic boom that was heard, then felt. Something crashed into Evan and he slid off the dryer, warm wetness that he assumed was blood streaming down his cheeks. The whole basement shook from the wavs of power radiating from the sonic boom, causing the washers and dryers to fall and sent chunks of concrete crashing to the floor from the ceiling. Even after he was certain he was laying on the floor, the room continued to tilt, the contents of the laundry room rolling across the floor like it was a life sized washing machine.

A chunk of concrete hit the basement floor very close to Evan, then rolled as the room tilted. Evan tried looking around, not understanding why he wasn't sliding across the floor with the rest of the objects in the room. Straining his neck, he realised that Jo had his arms around his chest, holding him close. More straining and he saw why they wern't tumbling across the room. His protector had one hand morphed into a paw and had his claws deep in the concrete of the wall. Which was odd, since Evan could have sworn Jo had said not long ago that he was rather weak for a Were and couldn't do much with his beautiful claws and teeth.

The room began tilting the other way, the process taking progressively less time. The big chunk of ceiling that had almost hit them began rolling toward them and Evan would have screamed had he been able to hear or speak. The arm around him tightened and they swung suddenly, Evan cathcing on quickly and throwing his body weight into it.

He didn't hear Jo scream, but he saw a bit of the boulder break off and slam into the Kats arm, leaving a ragged bleeding gash. Evan blinked, feeling another vibration reverberat though the room, this one shaking him to the marrow of his bones.

He still couldn't hear anything, but apparently Jo could because he seemed to curl up momentarily, his whole body going rigid. The room had lost the patern and was tilting haphazardly now, which Evan soon concluded was _very very very _bad.

Crashing right for them was a herd of washers and dryers, banged up from their trips around the room and several peices of the walls and ceiling. Evan felt panic rise in him, no longer paralyzed by fear and not disoriented from his deafness enough to be indifferent to this new and very imediate threat to his health.

A warmth that was enveloping and tender rose in him, not strong enough to flood him, but prevelent non the less. Too panicked to think strait he latched onto the warmth and in the face of his mortality threw it and wahtever was left of his stregth at the on comming barrage.

If he had been in another situation, he would have though it strange. He was sure he would have at least laughed, but the bisarre occurence held no significance for him at the moment. He did however, store the image of the smaller bouders, some of the laundry carts and a table that had been careening toward them suddenly morphing inyo various stuffed animals.

However, there were still massive objects falling toward them like hail from hell and whatever he had done had not been good enough. Just as Evan was contemplating the gramatical make up of his eulogy, Jo's body went rigid, the hand now possitivly crushing him. A strange, smell hit Evans nose, like hot night breezes and steamy lakes in the summer moonlight. Power that Evan had never felt before surrounded them, and the rocks directly infront of them bounced of a shimmering barrier that was gone as soon as it appeared.

Before Evan could even begin processing these events, the pandemoniun around them slowed, time itself slowing down and for a moment Evan tensed, waiting for the next wave of insatiable chaos to errupt.

But it never came. Instead, a figure appeared, right infront of Evan, hands palm flat to the wall, and feet supported by nothing but air. Evan's body relaxed, relief washing over him like rain on a scorching august afternoon.

Rob's arms incircled both Evan and Jo, who gav Rob a look if deep appriciation, then collasped agianst his father. Craddling both his charges, the wizard shifted, moving the timestream to his will, bending the time space contineum in a way that very few were cleared to.

Evan closed his eyes, hating the feeling of nausea that came with time travel. When he opened his eyes, he was on his back staring at the gray sky, squinting against the raindrops. Long blond hair obstructed his vision and before he could brace himself there was warm breath against his ear and the smell of the ice glazed skies in his nose.

Then he wasn't smelling anything, he was shooting up right, hands clamped over his ears as sounds assaulted him from all directions, his retured hearing comming too suddenly for his abused eardrums.

Coughing and shuddering, he waited until his senses returned to normal. Once he couldn't hear what he smelled and stoped tasting with his fingers, he sat up and looked around, alarmed that the first thing he heard was the distinct sound of throwing up. Spotting Jo, he cringed as the Kat's small body convulsed and he hurled into the bushes beside him as Rob rubbed his back.

Evan wathced, worried, but Jo had it under control. It only took him two more heaves to supress the nausea before he sat up, leaning forward on his knees. Wearily, he shot Evan an exausted smile, which Evan was happy to return, despite the ringig in his ears still making him wince.

Blond hair flashed again, this time out of the corner of Evan's eye. He turned, winced, grabbed his neck, then tried again, moving his whole body slowly. A thin wiry man crouched beside him, long blond hair almsot brushing the dirt.

Evan slowly lowered his hands from his ears, blinking and gazing around, trying not to turn his neck, "Hey Jay. Um, its nice to see you..."

Jason Reso scoffed, reaching out his hand and placing his warm palm on Evan neck. The smell of winter was back. Evan groaned loudly as his neck poped and the mucsles spasmed. Jay finished the healing, the smell of icy winds and melting snow receding.

Dusting the soil from his jeans, Jay stood, looking down at Evan, "No one's ever happy to see me. I'm like Sabu. I only show up when thngs get really bad and you all need someone to revive your sorry corpses."

Evan smiled at Jay's crass tone, just glad to be out of the laundry room. He looked over at Jo as Jay knelt next to him. The Kat made a face as Jay started healing him, but said nothing. Evan locked eyes with Rob, who sighed, all cheerfulness or good humor gone. He settled back on the ground, legs folded indian style.

"Guess we're chilling here for a while," Rob said, looking at his son sadly.

Evan let his head fall to the ground, giving into exausion without a fight. He would sleep now. He could worry about other stuff later. The lies his dad told him, the dream he'd had earlier, the weird scream in the laundry room, the warm power he felt well in him, the boulders turning to stuffed animals, the barrier...

It could all wait just a few hours...


End file.
